


You'll Be Alright

by AnonymousKamalaFan



Category: ER (TV 1994)
Genre: Gen, Hurt John Carter, Implied/Referenced Torture, John Carter Angst, Kidnapping
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-14
Updated: 2020-10-31
Packaged: 2021-03-09 00:53:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 11,310
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27006139
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnonymousKamalaFan/pseuds/AnonymousKamalaFan
Summary: Carter's sworn duty to help anyone in need gets him and his friends in a difficult situation.ORCarter's a dumbass with the best intentions.
Relationships: John Carter & Doug Ross, John Carter & Mark Greene (ER TV 1994), Peter Benton & John Carter
Comments: 14
Kudos: 17





	1. I

**Author's Note:**

> First multi-chapter story lets go!

Carter stretched his arms out as he walked towards the cafeteria. It had been a long day, with a steady stream of patients and he hadn’t had a chance to grab lunch. When he rounded the corner however he saw Drs Greene, Benton and Ross walking away looking disgruntled. Doug Ross noticed him first.

“No point trying to go down to the Cafeteria Carter, they have no water.” 

Carter stopped and stared past the Doctor and sure enough saw signs being put up indicating the Cafeteria was closed. He groaned as he stopped and Mark Greene rubbed his shoulder sympathetically.

“Wanna go grab something from Docs?” He asked the men around him. This time the groan was heard from Peter Benton.

“Is there no where else that we could go?” 

“It’s the only place close enough, especially if you’ve got bosses like Weaver and Romano” Doug chimed in. Carter nodded in agreement remembering the threat from Dr Weaver for if he wasn’t back in 20 minutes. Peter also seemed to relent at that and so Mark led the way as the three overworked doctors trailed behind him.

*** 

As the doctors left the hospital to cross over to the diner, a sound caught Carter’s attention.

“Did you guys hear that?” He asked the other doctors. They turned around and looked at him inquisitively. Again he heard the sound of, what seemed like, a cry of anguish. 

“Someone’s in pain”

Doug amusedly placed a hand on Carters shoulder “that Carter, is the sound of you spending too much time in the hospital” he grinned mischievously at his young colleague but Carter was not convinced. He started to walk towards the edge of the diner, looking down the alleyway that surrounded it. The dark of night hid any signs of life so Carter ventured further in, squinting to see whether there was in fact anyone to help. 

The other three doctors were waiting for Carter to return from his, what was sure to be, futile mission to save a supposed pained soul. 

“I swear he cannot leave a single person who might be in pain alone” Peter sighed frustrated. It was cold and he was hungry and he just wanted to get something to reenergise him for his next surgery. 

“Yeah he might be taking his Hippocratic oath a little too seriously if he’s treating drunks off the street” Mark said staring after the kid wondering down a dark alleyway. They all waited by the front of Docs for a few minutes before Mark voiced what they were all thinking. “Maybe there is someone who actually needs help” they all looked around at each other contemplating going after Carter. But after they realised he wasn’t coming back they all meandered over.

“Carter!” Benton called peering into the alleyway. It was poorly lit so they couldn’t really see faces but they could see the shadow of someone hovering over what looked to be an unconscious body. The first red flag to Peter Benton was the way the man, who he assumed was Carter, suddenly turned his head as if he had been caught committing a crime. Then when the alleyway darkened considerably, Peter knew one thing. The man in front of them was not Carter. It seemed Doug had reached this same conclusion as he called out

“Hey! What the hell do you think your doing?” The man slowly rose up with his hands ahead of him as if he didn’t want to cause any trouble. Peter looked down and now that the man had moved he realised the body lying on the ground was Carter. He stiffened and was debating making a run for it and calling the police when he heard a grunt behind him. As he turned he saw Mark and Doug unconscious on the floor and before he could defend himself he felt someone cover his mouth and the smell of chloroform took over his senses.

***

Carter slowly gained consciousness. He tried to open his eyes but even after they were open all he could see was darkness. He concluded, therefore, that he was probably blindfolded. The last thing he remembered was going down a dark alleyway and a funny smelling cloth suddenly covering his face. His brain was still a bit fuzzy but he knew what it meant. He was probably being kidnapped. There was always that risk, what with being from a family like the Carter’s, but he’d never taken the threat seriously. He’d always thought of kidnappings as a one in a million chance. But he was proven wrong as he tested the restraints on his arms and legs. From what he could tell he was sitting against the side of the,probable, van and his legs were stretched out in front of him. Luckily he hadn’t been gagged so he coughed and cleared his throat,

“Hello?” His voice still came out a whisper so he cleared his throat once again and said “Hello? Is anyone else in here?” He waited with bated breath for a response. If the kidnappers were in here with him he didn’t want to run the risk of upsetting them, but if they weren’t he could maybe try and escape. He shuffled along slightly but jumped as his shoulder made contact with another body. He froze waiting for some kind of response from the contact he had just made. However all he heard was a groan. He tried again, 

“Hey is anyone else here? My name is John Car-“

“Shut up Carter, I know who you are” Carter was taken aback by the voice of Doug Ross. Why was he here?

“Wha-Why are you here?” Carter asked shocked. 

“Could you give me a second to get my bearings before you start the interrogation?” Doug grumbled trying to dissuade the headache he could feel coming. He tried to move his hands but found them tied behind his back, same thing with his feet. He sighed in disappointment and then turned to where he had heard Carter’s voice. “To answer your question Carter, I have no idea why I’m here but I’m pretty sure it has something to do with us following you into a dark alleyway.”   
Carter remembered how he had left the doctors waiting and they must have come looking for him when he didn’t return.

“I’m sorry Dr Ross” Carter sighed dejectedly. Could he do anything right? Not only had he wondered into an obvious trap but he had led his friend to be trapped with him. Doug sensing Carters self deprecating thoughts quickly reassured him,

“Carter, I was kidding. This isn’t your fault. Anyway I’d much rather you be kidnapped with someone than by yourself” Doug chuckled hoping to lighten the mood. It seemingly worked as Carter laughed quietly beside him. Suddenly Carter sat up,

“Wait if your here, does that mean-“

A groan and some coughing was heard a bit further down the van, perfectly answering Carter’s question. 

“What the hell is going on?” Peters voice boomed out while Mark shuffled around trying to get into a more comfortable position than lying on his tied up hands. Carter hit his head against the van as he willed up the courage to tell his mentor that they had been kidnapped because of him. Luckily Doug Ross stepped into the line of fire instead,

“I think it’s pretty obvious what’s happened Peter” Ross said sarcastically. 

“Is everyone Okay?” Mark asked having now sat up successfully.

A couple of ‘yeahs’ were heard as everyone responded. Peter remembered what had happened and sat up immediately asking,

“Is Carter here?”

“Yes, Dr Benton, I’m here” Carter responded a little hesitantly hearing, what sounded like concern in his teachers voice.

“Are you hurt?” Benton asked trying but failing to hide the obvious fear he felt. The image of Carter, unconscious on the floor was seared into his brain and he had to check that his student was alright.

“Uh, yeah I’m fine, well as fine as you can be given the circumstances” Carter answered apprehensively. This was new territory for him with Benton. He had never heard this level of emotion in the mans voice. Mark and Doug both sat silently knowing that Benton had a secret soft spot for Carter and appreciated how genuinely worried Benton must have been for him to actually show it. Suddenly the van seemed to stop, and the 4 men heard doors being opened and slammed shut. They waited, on edge, terrified of what could be in store for them.

***

The car door opened and everyone pressed against the side of the van anticipating what was to come. Benton felt himself being grabbed and tried to fight against it.

“One wrong move and I’ll blow your brains out Doc” the man snarled in Bentons ear and jabbed the gun into his side. He stood silently as the man took his blindfold off. It was still night outside so obviously they hadn’t driven too far. Peter stored this information and tried to get a better look at where they were. It seemed the men had parked outside some kind of warehouse and Peter tried to search his mind for any recognition of the site. He however had no luck and instead watched as the other two men hauled Mark, Doug and Carter out of the van. They took off the blindfolds from these men and cut the leg restraints so they could walk. Benton could see the nervous energy in Carter building as he caught sight of the gun being pointed at Peter, Mark and Doug. The man who had opened the doors to the van roughly grabbed Carter and pulled him close, his arm around his neck.

“One wrong move pretty boy and your friends will die. You do what we say, we won’t have a problem, you understand?” Carter nodded stiffly. All the Drs were staring intensely waiting for the mans grip to ease as they saw Carter struggling to breathe, his hands weakly holding the mans arm, trying to gain some air. The man stared at the three men, observing their reactions and then let go of Carter, causing him to drop on to his knees gasping for air. The man above him smirked, and Benton almost lunged at him then and there but was stopped as Mark urgently shook his head.

“Let’s get going” one of the men commanded and pushed Peter Benton towards the warehouse entrance. He could hear the others following behind him. They entered a large hallway that was dimly lit by a few lightbulbs. They got to the end of the hall and were led down a staircase to what seemed like the basement, but it was lined with 7 metal doors. Peter was led to the last door and the men unlocked the padlock, pushing the door open to reveal a dingy cellar. The smell hit Peter first and he stepped back slightly, but the man behind him pushed him forward forcing him into the room, as he turned around to object he saw Doug and Mark pushed in too. He waited for Carter to be brought in but instead he saw two of the men grab each of the young mans arms and start to drag him away,

“Hey! HEY! What the hell are you doing with him?” Peter shouted striding rapidly towards the door but he was stopped by a the barrel of a gun being pointed at his head. 

“Don’t you worry about your little boy toy, we just got some business with him and then he’ll be joining you” Peter looked over the mans shoulder as he heard Carter cry out

“W-wait, what are you doing? Where are you taking me? D-Dr Benton, Dr Green” Mark gazed helplessly into the wide fearful eyes of his young colleague and took in a deep breath.

“Just do what they say Carter.” Mark stared, defeated as he tried to give Carter some last words of wisdom. Benton watched as Carter was dragged into the room furthest from them and faced the man who still had the gun in his face. 

“If you hurt him, in any way...” Peter growled. Doug stepped forward and placed a calming hand on the surgeon hoping to get him to back down before he did something stupid and got himself killed. The man in front of them whistled wickedly, and smirked again.

“I won’t make any promises, Dr Benton” he said mocking Carter’s pleas at the end but before Peter Benton could punch the sick bastard the cell door was slammed in his face. He looked at his colleagues and sat down in despair, waiting for his protégé to return.

***

The three men had been waiting for what seemed like hours but was realistically probably about 45 minutes. The tension was palpable as the silence was an agreed condition until Carter came back. They listened intently for any sound that could determine what was happening but all they heard was the door being opened and closed every so often and footsteps shuffling to the other side of the hallway and back. After a couple more minutes the door opened again and footsteps could be heard getting closer to them. Peter became alert instantly, ready for a fight especially if Carter wasn’t with them. Mark and Doug also began to stand as they heard the lock being opened on the other side of the door. As the door slammed opened they saw the man firmly holding Carter, gun ever present. He whispered something to the young man and shoved a bag in his hands, pushing him into the cellar. Doug had moved forward and held onto Carter, who was struggling to stay on his feet, while Peter tried to determine what exactly these men wanted,

“What do you want from us?” He asked defiantly, trying to hide the fear he was feeling deep down. The man stared at Peter, his signature smirk making Mark want to slap him in the face but he stayed back knowing the threat of a bullet was the only thing keeping any of them at bay. 

“You’ll see” the man stated casually and closed the door in his face again. Peter couldn’t help it, he went up and kicked it, determined to let his frustration out somehow. 

“Peter,” Marks cautionary tone got his attention and he turned to take a look at his student. Carter had clearly been roughed up, his tie was gone and his shirt untucked but there were no actual injuries on him. However the young man was acting strange, but Peter assumed it was the fear and shock of being in a situation like this. Doug began asking questions as soon as he had sat his young colleague down comfortably.

“Hey Carter, You Okay?”

“Yess, I’m great Dr Ross!” Carter replied his speech slurred at first and then overly enthusiastic. Mark looked at Peter, both of them slightly confused.

“Uh, Okay, can you tell me what happened in that room? Did they hurt you in any way?” Doug continued asking questions despite Carters strange demeanour, needing to know what those men had done. If the kid had a serious injury it was better they knew now and were able to start treating it best they could. Carter stared at Doug for a bit, not responding to his question. Mark observed him and noticed how blown his pupils were. His own eyes widened as realisation dawned on him. He crouched next to Doug and snapped his fingers in Carter’s face hoping to get his attention,

“Carter! Carter, did they inject you with anything in there?” Mark asked and both Doug and Peter looked up, knowing Marks hypothesis. They both prayed it wasn’t true, but knew better. Carter’s next words confirmed it.

“They had a biiig needle, Dr Greene. Really b-big” Carter shivered as he spaced out again, his mind seemingly going back to that moment. Peter now took charge and felt the mans forehead, realising he was starting to burn up,

“He’s starting to get a fever” Peter said softly staring at the ground. 

“Sons of bitches” Doug spat out, seething. He then caught sight of the bag that had been given to Carter and shoved in with him. They hadn’t looked at the contents. He moved towards the bag as Peter began checking for other injuries that could have been inflicted. Inside the bag Doug found 4 bottles of water, some chips and a bottle of Advil. 

“Well there’s not much but give him some water I’m sure he’s thirsty” Doug said passing the bottle to Benton. He unscrewed the cap and tried to get Carter’s attention,

“Carter. Carter!” The student stared at him blankly “drink this” Benton said helping him hold the bottle and watching him as he took massive gulps. Doug took out the Advil and looked at Mark. 

“We’ll probably have to save that for later” Mark said while glancing at Carter, who’s eyes were now fluttering. He watched as Carter slowly closed his eyes and Benton took off his jacket covering the young student with it as he noticed they had taken that from him as well. When Benton was sure that Carter had fallen into a somewhat peaceful slumber he got up and faced Mark and Doug.

“What are we going to do? I have no idea what they gave him, it could be dangerous,” Mark looked over at the student in question and bowed his head in thought. 

“I think that we should monitor his vitals and see how things go.” After the disapproving look he got from Benton he continued “there’s not much else we can do Peter. If they come back in here you could try asking them what they gave him” Mark tried to suggest. Peter just grunted and walked over to Carter checking his pulse and temperature best he could without equipment. Doug looked over at Mark skeptically. 

“Do you think they’ll come back?”

“I don’t know Doug. I don’t know that I want them too”

“If it’s money I’m sure Carter’s family will be able to drum up the cash” 

Mark looked away at the door as he heard footsteps again.

“I hope so.” With that he turned towards the door that was slowly being unlocked.


	2. II

All three men stood to attention and moved closer to Carter, creating a barricade around him. As the door opened they saw the same man they had been dealing with enter the cell with another slender figure. The man they didn’t know held a large gun pointing it in the vague direction of the group. The man they were now familiar with, walked up to them and slowly pulled his hand out of his jeans revealing what seemed to be his signature gun. He focused on Benton who was standing directly in front of Carter. 

“What do you want?” Bentons Ice cold voice came out, threatening the man to take a step closer. Said man just smirked again and Doug had to use all of his strength not to deck him in the jaw. 

“I wanna see how our little friends doing” his thick southern accent was his most defining feature. Doug spoke up this time,

“He has a fever and he’s out cold. What the hell did you give him?” 

“Oh you know, a little of this, a little of that” the man laughed maniacally. Peter couldn’t control himself, he grabbed the mans collar and pushed him up to the opposite wall. The man by the door unlatched the safety of his gun. The man glared into Bentons eyes.

“Make one wrong move”

The gun man by the door moved over to where Benton had been standing.

“Your buddy’s gonna have a hole somewhere in his body” 

Benton hesitated for a second. 

“Peter” Doug warned. The surgeon let go and held his hands up in surrender. The man with the large gun was still pointing it at Carter. 

“I’ve backed off. Leave him alone” Peter spoke lowly. The man in front of him walked up to Carter, crouched by him and felt his pulse. He got up slowly and all three men watched every move he made carefully. Then without a second thought the man kicked Carter’s leg causing him to gasp as he fell to the ground, suddenly awoken from his drug induced slumber. 

“HEY!” Mark shouted moving to help Carter up. But as he took a step forward he was stopped by the sound of a bullet. Every muscle froze and his blood ran cold as he looked up. Luckily he saw no one was shot and it was a warning shot, at the wall behind him. 

“Nobody moves, till we leave the room alright?” The southern man said, his revolver still pointed in Marks general direction. Everyone remained still and eventually the man backed out of the room and locked the door cackling as they walked away. 

All three doctors jumped into action once they knew the man was gone and rushed over to Carter, who was trying to unsuccessfully get off the floor. 

“Hey, Carter, there you go buddy” Doug supported the intern in his quest to sit up and placed Bentons jacket on him again. Meanwhile Mark was checking his vitals and Benton looked at his leg carefully probing the area that had been kicked.

“Alright Carter, it looks like it’ll just bruise so we don’t have to worry to much” Peter tried to reassure his student who was looking slightly past him through half lidded eyes. Mark shot a worried look at Peter

“Temps a little high, pulse is getting faster” 

“Sorry” Carter mumbled vaguely paying attention, vaguely lost in his own mind. Everyone could see the worst effects of the drugs were yet to come. Doug grabbed his hand and smiled at him slightly

“You have nothing to be sorry about Carter. Now you just try and rest” Mark sat next to him and with nothing better to do, ran his fingers through Carter’s hair, trying to cool him down slightly. Peter Benton watched despairingly, wanting and needing to do more. In the end he said quietly 

“You’ll be alright Carter” and sat in front waiting for this horrible nightmare to be over.

***

Carter had started shivering a while ago and was now covered in Marks jacket as well. However this didn’t do much to help his shaking. He was seemingly sleeping, his eyes closed, only opening whenever Mark would move seeing as it was his shoulder the intern was resting on. Peter had started pacing restlessly after they had eaten the chips that were in the bag and had tried to feed them to Carter. However the kid was not lucid enough to get down more than a few bites. They gave him water but had needed to ration it so they couldn’t give him to much. Doug felt Carter’s forehead and looked at the two doctors.

“I think we should give him a couple of those Advil now.” Benton nodded in agreement and went to grab the bottle and some water. Mark shifted slightly trying to wake the young Doctor.

“Carter, Carter! We’re going to give you some Advil now, Okay?” Mark spoke softly trying to get him to sit up. Carter opened his eyes but was still too weak to sit up by himself so Dr Greene held onto his shoulders for him. Benton shook two Advil out and placed them in Carter’s hands. He put them in his mouth and swallowed with the water, almost immediately slouching against Marks shoulder again. Mark smiled slightly fondly looking at the student. Doug caught this and was about to make a comment when he heard the dreaded footsteps coming towards the doors. However this time it seemed there were multiple men approaching the door. Benton and Ross stood and moved towards the door as it opened. Suddenly four men with guns came in and grabbed Peter and Doug and hauled Mark to his feet causing Carter to be jolted awake. The young man was then grabbed and pulled to his feet as well, both jackets that were covering him falling to the ground.

“What’s happening?” Mark asked urgently as he saw Carter struggling to keep his balance. The young man was as pale as a ghost and was leaning on the wall for support. Benton couldn’t take it any more and turned to the man holding him hostage,

“Look, I won’t try anything but the kid is on the verge of collapsing let me help him and then you can take us wherever you want.”

The man stared at Benton and then looked towards the man with the southern accent, who nodded slightly. The man jerked his gun, indicating that Benton could go. Peter hastily made his way over to his student and caught him just as he was about to fall. Carter looked up slightly,

“Dr Benton, I don’t feel so good” he mumbled.

“I know Carter, I know” Peter put Carter’s arm around his shoulder, helping him stand up slightly. He looked up and nodded to the men, who started to lead the 4 doctors out into the hall. 

Mark and Doug watched as the men led them to the room they had taken Carter previously. They both stopped and looked at each other, bracing themselves for what was to come. Doug was pushed through the door first and Mark tried to catch a glimpse of Peter and Carter before he too was shoved through. 

Peter watched from a bit further back as his co-workers were manhandled into the room at the end of the corridor. Carter had looked up when they stopped and when he saw the room they were being led to started whispering a steady stream of ‘No,no,no’ and ‘Please Dr Benton, don’t let them.’ Peter looked around helplessly but was only met with two guns pointed at him, daring him to try something. Reluctantly Peter started to move towards the room holding on a little tighter to Carter, as the student started to drag his feet,

“Please, I don-Can’t go back in there Dr Benton, Do-Don’t make me” Carter was pleading now, using the last of his energy to try and push away from the surgeon. Peter looked up and saw the men were getting antsy, he tried to console the man next to him

“Carter, Hey man, Don’t worry, Your not on your own” Peter tried to make eye contact “Your not on your own, I won’t let anything happen to you” Carter slowly looked into Peter Bentons eyes and saw a reassurance that could be felt through the haze of the drugs. Just as Carter went to respond a loud crack was heard and suddenly Carter slumped, unconscious into Peters arms. Stunned the older man stumbled back slightly but regained his composure as fury took over,

“What the hell is wrong with you? He didn’t do anything” 

The man in front, infuriatingly, chuckled nonchalantly.

“He was taking too long to get in the room”

“He was about to go! That was completely unnecessary!” Shouted Peter still trying to balance Carter’s weight as he yelled at these men. Now on top of everything Carter had a head injury. Frustrated Peter sat on the ground laying Carter down in his lap, having no other alternative. The two men looked to, who seemed to be their leader, and after gaining a nod one of them grabbed Peter while one dragged Carter’s unconscious body into the room, Peter was pushed in after him and he looked up into the horrified faces of Doug and Mark who were looking from Carter to Peters pants. As he looked down he realised his lap was covered with the blood from Carter’s head injury. Understanding what it looked like Peter clarified

“They hit him in the head with the butt of the gun. He’s unconscious” he glared at the assailants as he said this, when they entered the room. Mark breathed a sigh of relief and rubbed his eyes behind his glasses. Doug bent over and put his hands on his knees breathing heavily. When they had heard the shouting and then the bang they had assumed the worst and seeing Carter dragged in, seemingly…no, Doug wouldn’t think about that, that didn’t happen. He looked up slowly and saw Carter’s unconscious body being dragged to the corner of the room and his hand chained to the pipe there. Then Doug, Mark and Peter were also forced into separate corners of the room and chained to pipes as well. Mark gazed at Carter, trying to gage the extent of his head injury as he had the best vantage point from his corner. He could see some blood on his neck but it looked dry so he hoped that was from before and the blood had started clotting. His attention shifted to the centre of the room where the “leader” had cleared his throat and was sitting in a chair, smirking at all of them. His cronies were dotted around the room, one for every doctor. 

“So I’m guessing y’all are wondering why your here” he started his southern drawl even thicker than before. Doug was about to make a comment when Mark shook his head , fiercely indicating that he was not to be reckless at this point in time. Doug complied and continued to just glare at the man in the middle.

“Well, technically the three of you weren’t meant to be here. Hell, we could kill you all right now if we wanted to” the man pulled back the safety of his gun at this. Everyone of the doctors held their breath. 

“But we won’t. We’re not looking to get a murder rap. ” he did a once over of the room. Peter glanced over to see whether Carter was awake but was disappointed at the sight of him still slumped unconscious. 

“We actually don’t even want money. We needed leverage. You see his” the man pointed at Carter viciously “grandfather got our business shut down. He discovered our den and got us locked up. 5 years” the man sneered now not looking at any of the doctor’s. He seemed to be lost in his memories and at this moment Doug saw some movement in the corner of his eye. As he slowly looked over, he saw Carter starting to wake up. However the movement did not go unnoticed by the man next to Carter and he alerted his boss.

“So our young Carter’s woken up huh?” The man grimaced and strode over to the him. He put his gun away in his pocket and Mark breathed a sigh of relief hoping that no guns would be used. The boss stared at Carter, until he fully woke up and Carter started to cough slightly and groaned in pain. The man stood up and with his back facing the other three doctors continued,

“Well now we’re gonna teach that bastard that you don’t mess with us.”

All three doctors heads shot up as they heard the sinister words and realised the implications. Peter started struggling against his cuffs as all the men converged on his student, his friend.

“LEAVE HIM ALONE” Peter shouted still trying to break the cuffs, anything. Mark watched, dejected as they unchained Carter and pushed him to the middle of the room, onto the floor. As they started to kick at the young man, Doug also struggled against his cuffs, yelling at them to stop 

“YOU SONS OF BITCHES, HE DIDN’T DO ANYTHING TO YOU” 

Carter tried to shield himself, curling into a foetal position, but the men continued to brutally attack him. One stepped on his hand and the cry of pain that brought out of Carter was enough to make Mark also start struggling against his cuffs. But the chains wouldn’t budge and the men didn’t stop. At some point Doug and Mark accepted that they were going to be forced to helplessly watch their colleague be beaten to oblivion but Peter Benton kept fighting and shouting for what felt like hours. He wouldn’t give up, not when he could hear the slight cries from Carter whenever one of the men broke through his defence. At long last they stopped. The boss bent down and grabbed Carter by the collar, lifting him only slightly,

“You tell your grandfather, the next time he messes with us, we won’t be so merciful” and pushed him back down to the ground.

Peter watched Carter shivering, his whole body shaking with an unbridled need for vengeance. He spoke to the man, still staring at Carter,

“You’re a sick son of a bitch. I hope they catch you and throw you in prison for the rest of your sorry life” 

The man, unfazed, walked up to Peter and slapped him in the face.

“I’ve been wanting to do that since you opened your mouth” he retorted. Before Peter could retaliate further Mark tried to reign him in,

“Peter,” his tone warned him of the possibility of what these men could do. Peter glared at Mark and then turned and continued to look intently at Carter. Mark saw the men about to leave and tried his best to reason with them.

“At least leave the Keys for these cuffs. He needs urgent medical attention.” 

The man chuckled slightly and took the key out of his pocket. He put the key on top of a cabinet in the furthest space in the room.

“That should give us enough time to get away” the man smiled at Dr Greene, who’s fury was now clear on his face. As the men left Mark yelled

“BASTARDS! EVERY ONE OF YOU!”  
And slumped back in despair realising what it would take to get out of these cuffs and get out of here. He hated it, but the only person who was uncuffed was the trembling figure in the middle of the room. He looked at Doug who was still seemingly seething and staring at the floor. He then looked at Peter, who, once he made eye contact, nodded, understanding what needed to be done.

“Carter” the young man didn’t respond.

“Carter, look at me” the man moved slightly his eyes peaking out from under his arms. The fear that was present caused a shiver to run down Peters spine. Before he could say anything Carter whispered brokenly,

“Ar-are they gone?” He gazed at Peter with so much hope that Peter felt a swell of emotion in his heart. He realised he was hurt. He was hurt that Carter had been hurt and he had done nothing, had been unable to do anything. Still the surgeon tried to soften his tone as much as possible,

“Yeah, yeah they’re gone Carter”

Carter slowly started to breath slightly easier and looked intently at Benton. He had tears in his eyes as he spoke,

“You lied.” 

Peter expected this, he had made a promise, had forced Carter into the room, he had let him down. The one thing he never wanted to do.

“I know. I’m sorry Carter.” He looked into Carters eyes and tried to convey his sincerity. 

“But if you get the key from the top of the cabinet, and come and unlock these cuffs, I can try and make it up to you.” 

Carter stared at his mentor from the ground. He processed the words and slowly tried to get up. The task was easier said than done as every muscle in the interns body protested any time he moved. He started breathing deeply and Doug Ross watched the young mans face contort in pain at this simple act of breathing. 

“You’re doing great Carter.” Doug called out in encouragement. All the doctors watched as Carter got on all fours and slowly crawled over to the cabinet. His breathing was becoming more ragged as he progressed and Peter was tempted to tell the kid to stop, that they’d find another way. However Marks voice cut in before he could speak,

“That’s it Carter, your almost there” Peter turned to look at Mark, no longer able to watch as Carter winced at every inch he crawled forward. Mark gave him an encouraging look and continued to watch Carter as he finally approached the cabinet. He turned and slumped against it for a second trying to regain his energy. As he tried to control his breathing, he coughed slightly and then had a coughing fit. As his coughing slowly came to an end he looked at his hand and saw it covered in blood. He looked up and saw all three doctors gazing concernedly at him. He started to accept the fact that he would have to get these keys. Not for him, he didn’t want to be morbid but with the lack of knowledge on where they were and when they would get access to a medical facility he realised it was looking pretty bleak for him, but for his friends who had a chance of getting out of this hellish situation and actually getting home. He turned and started to pull himself up by the handles of the cabinet still to weak to stand and once he was able to reach the top of the cabinet, searched around with his hand. As soon as he grasped the key he fell back against the cabinet, the pain from the physical exertion causing black spots to appear in his vision. He had to act fast. He looked for who the nearest person to him was and saw through his blurred vision Mark Greene, and suddenly pushed himself using the last of his energy to stumble over to the attending. Mark watched as Carter seemed to gain a new found burst of energy and stumbled over to him falling onto the ground next to him,

“Hey, hey Carter, your alright” Mark tried to comfort the student who had gone into another coughing fit beside him. When the man stopped and pulled his hand away from his mouth, Mark was disappointed to see it was covered in blood. 

“Carter, you need to rest. You probably have internal bleeding and any more movement could lead to a rib puncturing your lung or y-“

“Yeah I know Dr Greene, but I had to get this key to you somehow” Mark watched as Carter fumbled around, trying to push the key into the hole. Mark moved his wrist around to make it easier and eventually Carter managed to get the key in and unlock the cuffs. As soon as they were off Mark stood up and pushed Carter down, getting him to sit. He could see now the full extent of Carter’s pain as his eyelids fluttered like he was going to lose consciousness. Mark was torn between staying with the man and unlocking his co-workers cuffs so they could help him treat their student. But Carter answered his internal battle as he pulled Mark close and whispered,

“Go. Don’t worry about me, you guys need to get out of here.” Mark stepped back and looked at the man who was definitely now losing his battle with consciousness,

“We’re not leaving you here Carter” Mark said firmly as he went to unlock Doug and Peters handcuffs. Peter immediately strode over to Carter, checking his pulse and resps, checking his ribs. Doug tried to keep Carter awake but he pushed Peters hands away and said as forcefully as he could,

“You have to-to go. It’s too late for me, but you have to leave.”

Peter glared at him “Shut up Carter, we’re not leaving you here” he stated firmly, Mark nodding along.

“You don’t have to worry Carter, those guys aren’t gonna come back. They’ve done what they needed too.” Doug added trying to comfort the man. However the man shook his head rapidly.

“No” he coughed, more blood staining his lips “he-he said, before, that someone would come back” a deep breath for air “to finish you all off. N-no witnesses” as Carter finished relaying this final piece of information he closed his eyes not being able to fight the darkness that was intent on taking him under. Peter looked up and tried to wake the young student, meanwhile Mark and Doug looked at each other, baffled by this new information. 

“Damn he’s probably lost consciousness because of the pain. Doug did we have any more Advil left?” Peter asked still checking Carter over, trying to get him into a more comfortable position. Doug left to go and grab the bottle that had been left in the other room and while he was there he also got the bottle of water that was left. When he returned he saw Mark and Peter in an intense conversation. 

“Peter, there’s not much we can do here and if he’s right-“

“I’m not leaving him Mark! I don’t care what he said to you, he doesn’t know what he’s talking about” Doug knew immediately what the debate was and for once kept his opinion to himself. He could see both sides so he went over to Carter, focusing his efforts on waking the man up so he could take some Advil. 

“And what help are you going to be Peter staying here without any medical equipment, any way to contact anyone and possibly getting yourself killed? If we go now we have a chance of finding a phone and contacting authorities and an ambulance who will actually be able to help Carter!” Mark tried to make Peter see that the ends would justify the means. He hated that they may have to leave Carter but the reality was that the young man would have a better chance if the three doctors left and found some way to contact someone rather than waiting here for a possible hitman to take them out. Peter turned away from Mark and knelt by Doug silently watching as he sprinkled water on Carter’s face trying to get him to wake up. Peter knew that what Mark was saying made sense, but it killed him even thinking of leaving Carter in this condition. 

“How do we know this supposed hit man won’t kill Carter when he finds him alone and injured in this place?” Peter asked gravely, his last attempt at a reason to stay. 

“He won’t” all the doctors turned to where the voice had come from on the ground. Carter had opened his eyes slightly and was trying to sit up. Before he could move any further, Doug had him swallow two Advil for his pain. The young man then turned to Peter,

“I’m supposed to survive, to warn my Grandfather.” He paused catching his breath “Go Dr Benton, they’re counting on you staying. I-“ Carter took another deep breath, flinching slightly “I wouldn’t be able to live with myself, if I was the reason you were killed.” Peter looked down in defeat. He knew he had no choice but to go. He stared at Carter for a while, willing him to change his mind, to ask him to stay, but the young man stood his ground and slightly nodded his head. 

“Fine. We’ll go and find help.” Peter stated, trying to make sure Carter knew they weren’t leaving him completely. Carter smiled slightly and waved him off, pushing him to go and leave. Mark came and ruffled Carter’s hair,

“We’ll be back soon Carter,” he said fixing the jackets to cover Carter properly. Doug came after him and squeezed the young mans shoulder gently,

“Hang in there kiddo” he said with his signature comforting smile. Peter was still kneeling next to his student trying his best to get ready for what he had to do. Carter looked at him and without saying a word assured him that he would heed Doug Ross’ words. He would hang on. Peter nodded gently at this non verbal confirmation and went over helping him to lie more comfortably as he placed his jacket under Carter’s head for a pillow. He heard Mark and Doug start to walk out and as Carter’s eyes began to close, he leaned down and kissed his forehead slightly, 

“You’ll be alright man” Peter whispered and turned walking out of the room, missing Carter’s small smile as he floated into a deep slumber.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's Chapter 2! The next one might take a bit longer coz I haven't completed it yet but I'll say it should be posted next week Wednesday ideally! Hope you enjoyed it and if you did please leave kudos and comments! Thanks for reading!


	3. III

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah Here we go!

Carter shivered slightly and opened his eyes. His head was pounding and he couldn’t remember where he was for a sec, as he started to try and get up, pain started to radiate throughout his entire body and he quickly remembered where he was and why he was so cold. As he opened his eyes and adjusted to the dim light of the room he was in he realised that he could hear something. For a second he thought maybe Drs Benton, Greene and Ross had found help and had come back. As he listened intently and only heard one pair of heavy footsteps, he realised that this was likely the man the guys who had kidnapped and drugged him, had talked about. Although Carter had reassured Dr Benton of the fact that this guy was not after him and therefore he’d be fine, he was starting to doubt his words. What would stop this guy from killing him? It’s not like sending his dead body to his grandfather would be any less of a message. And he had seen all the men’s faces, surely that would make him a witness just like the other doctors? As these thoughts began formulating in Carter’s mind and the footsteps started to get closer he realised he had to at least try and hide. He slowly rolled over onto his stomach and pulled himself onto all fours. He looked around the room and saw the cabinet that the key had been on by the door. The shadow that was created behind it was dark enough to hide his entire body from anyone who entered the room. He prayed the man would not do a thorough search as he started to drag his battered body towards the darkened corner. The footsteps were now coming down the stairs and getting louder as the man descended. Carter started crawling faster wanting to be completely settled and silent in the corner before the man reached the door to the room. He managed to throw his body against the wall curling into himself, however this caused him to have a slight coughing fit and he tried to muffle them in the sleeve of his sweater. He prayed that the man hadn’t heard as he had apparently finished descending the steps and was walking towards the room. Carter became as small as possible, his ribs aching in protest but he wasn’t willing to take any chances. He couldn’t tell if he was sweating from the nerves or the fever but he felt like he was going to pass out at any second.

The door knob turned and clicked open.

Carter held his breath.

Heavy boots entered the room and stopped, two steps in. The man was not yet in Carter’s line of vision and the intern prayed it would stay that way. Luck was not on his side as the man walked further into the room and Carter caught sight of the hulking assassin, in his hand a gun that Maggie probably would have known the make of. But to Carter couldn’t care less because he knew that If he was at the end of it, he wouldn’t stand a chance.

***

Benton was pacing furiously and Doug watched as he kept glaring every so often at the back of Marks head. When the three doctors had left the Warehouse they had discovered, to their chagrin, that it was still pitch black outside and dead silent. This sight alone made all the doctors anxious as they had been hoping to maybe catch a ride to the nearest gas station so they could call for an ambulance. Seeing as this seemed unlikely Mark had suggested they start walking and after gaining disparaging looks from both colleagues expressed the same frustrating question he had inside the warehouse. 

What else could they do?

So they started walking. There were a few street lights a couple of miles away, from what they could see, so they hoped there would be some way to communicate as well. After about 30 minutes of walking they reached the first lamppost and saw, what looked like, an abandoned building. However Mark decided they should still knock and see whether anyone was home. Doug decided he’d do the talking, just in case a young lady came to the door and he could charm his way in, and gave three loud knocks. They waited. Just when Doug was about to come to the conclusion that the place was indeed abandoned, as it had first been assumed, a light came on behind the door and someone had been heard opening the locks. All the men had stood back, slightly in awe and waited in anticipation for the owner to open up. As the door finally swung open, they saw a small old lady pointing a revolver at them. The lady had told them, quite fiercely, that if they didn’t get off her property in ten seconds she had a gun and would not be afraid to use it. After getting over the initial shock of having a gun pointed at them a second time in one day, Doug stepped up and explained their situation. He even took out his hospital ID badge which he had grabbed from his jacket, and given it to her. Once the woman had examined it she became instantly more welcoming to the worn out, handsome doctors and ushered them in. That is how the Doctors were where they were and the reason for Bentons pacing was he felt it was taking Mark way to long to talk to emergency services and get them down here. 

“Alright, yes, yes we’ll show you where to go when you get here. Okay great, thanks” Mark finally hung up the phone and Peter turned on him immediately,

“Why the hell did that take so long?” 

Mark stared at him slightly disapprovingly “I had to make sure they wouldn’t just take us straight to the hospital, that we’d be able to go with them to find Carter” he responded.

“We’re going to County right?” Doug asked as Peter nodded satisfied.

“Yeah they said County is still the nearest trauma facility despite it being about an hours drive away.” Peter sat down in a large armchair, dreading the waiting they would now have to do for the ambulance. Each second that passed made him feel more helpless than he already was. Now that he would just be left to idle thinking his mind wondered back to Carter, alone and injured in a dark warehouse. He doubted his decision to leave now, looking back, he could of just waited and if this assassin did come he could have tried to get the better of him. But it was too late to think in hypotheticals. Now Peter Benton had come this far, he would wait. Wait and pray. 

***

The man stood still in the middle of the room, seemingly waiting for Carter to slip up and make a sound so he could turn around and shoot him. After about thirty seconds the man walked towards the jackets that Carter had left in the middle of the room and rifled through the pockets. He pulled out, what looked like an ID, and then turned, slowly, surveying the room. Carter closed his eyed and prayed the man wouldn’t look to carefully in his direction. It seemed he didn’t as he started to walk back towards the door and was almost out, when Carter felt a coughing fit threaten to suffocate him with how desperately it was clawing it’s way out of his mouth. 

He coughed. The man stopped. 

Carter heard the safety being unlatched. Footsteps came towards him. 

All he could think was 

‘If I get shot and don’t die, Dr Bentons gonna kill me when he finds me.’

***

The ambulance had arrived and all three docs were riding in the back with bated breath. They were in front, another ambulance following closely behind. Mark noticed Peter looking down, his posture tense. Doug was the one, however, to break the silence. 

“I’m sure we’ll get there in time Peter,” he said quietly, trying to reassure his colleague and himself. Peter looked up and both doctors were slightly taken a back by the fear in the surgeons expression. 

“I just hope we’re the only ones who find him. Something’s felt off since we left” Peter responded, still tense. 

Mark shifted slightly in his seat, “It’s nerves Peter, I’m sure Carter’s fine.” 

“Is this it?” The paramedic turned and asked the three doctors. Mark got up and glanced out of the windscreen. 

“Yeah that’s it.” He replied, chills running down his spine. In the light of the ambulance the warehouse looked decrepit and unstable. In the darkness he hadn’t realised how old the building actually was. As the ambulance slowed down, Peter got ready to jump out immediately. The police car in front came to a stop. 

“Peter, we should let th-“ but before Mark could finish his sentence, Peter was already out of the ambulance heading straight for the ware house, Doug close behind him. Mark sighed, exhausted by his friends reckless behaviour but as he looked around he realised he was alone in the ambulance and despite earlier hesitations needed to make sure Carter was in fact okay. As he stepped out, he barely moved forward when a sound deafened him. Everything and everyone slowed down and hesitated, Peter turned and made eye contact with Doug. Mark stared at him and then sharply at the building. It was as clear as day. A shot. 

They started running.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There it is! Sorry about the cliffhanger but I couldn't resist. Hope you liked it and I know its a bit short but I am trying to bring it to a close so I'll try and make the next chapter longer. Speaking of which it may be up Saturday but latest probably next Tuesday. As always leave Kudos and comments and any feedback you may have!


	4. IIII

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm Sorry! I know it's late and I hate other fic writers who do that but I'm here, with the final part!

All three doctors ran ahead of the police officers, leading the way to where they had left Carter. Benton was ahead speeding down the stairs at full speed with no fear.

Well. One fear.

But he couldn’t think of that not until he knew what had happened for sure. He kept trying to think of rationalisations, maybe it was a warning shot, an accidental shot, maybe Carter had fired the shot? Although Peter felt a bit iffy about that one as well. As he finally arrived at the basement he saw a man standing outside of the door where Carter was. 

“Hey!” Peter shouted with no regard for his own safety. The man turned around and faced the three doctors and police who had caught up with them. 

“Drop your weapon sir or we will be forced to make you” the officer who was ahead of everyone said steadily. His hand hovered over his holster as the man in front of them slowly turned around, his hands up. He dropped the gun and Peter moved to go forward but the police officer stopped him.

“Doc, let us arrest this guy and then you can go in looking for your friend.” Reluctantly Peter moved back and saw that the paramedics had also caught up with them and were waiting with a gurney. The cuffs were on the man and the police started to take him up but as he passed the three doctors he smirked and looked Peter in the eyes. 

“He won’t make it through the night.” Before anyone could stop him the surgeon landed a punch on the mans face and was ready to fight him further if Mark and Doug hadn’t held him back. 

“Peter we need to help Carter NOW” Mark said pushing him towards the room. What the man had said had shaken him as they still weren’t sure whether Carter had been shot but it was looking likely that he had. Peter realised what Mark meant and moved forward urgently

“Carter?” He called out seeing their coats they had left with the student in the middle of the floor but not the student himself. This immediately concerned him as he knew Carter was in no shape to move or be moved. He walked inside looking around trying to see where Carter might have gone but it was Doug who spotted him first,

“Peter, over here” As Peter looked to where Doug was going, he noticed the cabinet had been knocked over, a sight blocked by the open door on entrance. Behind it the vague shape of a body huddled in the corner was slowly starting to unfurl. Doug walked towards the man on the floor and called out to him, “Carter, Is that you bud?” The man slowly looked up and apprehensive brown eyes became visible.

“Dr Ross?” He called out his voice breaking slightly from relief. It was all the ammunition the Doctors needed as they rushed to aid their young friend. Doug reached him first and checked him over. He couldn’t see a gunshot wound but he had to be sure,

“Carter are you okay? Did the-“ 

Carter shook his hand softly as he tried to relax his body. He had been so tense he hadn’t felt the effects of moving and sitting in such an uncomfortable position until now. 

“No, th-the cabinet” he said slowly and ash he tried to sit up, he winced in pain, his ribs protesting in agony. Doug saw this and put his arm around the mans back trying to help him, instead he felt a sudden weight on his arm and looked up to see Carter had passed out. ‘Probably from the pain’ he thought. By this time Peter and Mark had made their way over with the paramedics so Doug lay him down slowly and moved out of the way letting the paramedics take over. He went over and stood by Mark watching intently as the medics assessed the patient and prepared to transfer him to the gurney. Peter was hovering nearby, every so often chiming in with his own input and trying to grab a stethoscope so he could check over his student himself. Mark smiled slightly,

“He’ll be alright”

Doug looked at him curiously “How do you know?” 

“Peter won’t let anything happen to him. Not on his watch” he said and both men watched as Peter Benton led the way for the gurney that carried, what they would come to realise, the surgeons closest friend.

***

The hospital had been informed of the situation that occurred with four of their doctors. They had all been worried sick after the doctors had gone missing in the middle of their shifts over 24 hours ago and had been frantically trying to cover for them as well as working to find out what had happened. Therefore when the call came in from Mark that they were arriving to the hospital in an hour after being kidnapped everyone had been stuck between a sigh of relief and what a gasp of horror over what had happened. They knew it was Carter that was the most critically injured but they all realised this was likely a traumatic event for all involved so they needed to take care when the ambulance arrived. Kerry, Carol and Susan stood on the ambulance bay waiting with bated breath. Suddenly sirens could be heard and flashing lights became visible. Both Kerry and Carol went to the ambulance, Susan following closely behind. As they opened the doors they heard Peters voice first, 

“He has internal bleeding and probably needs a chest tube from a collapsed lung. Someone call the OR, tell them to book a room, we need to get him up as so-“ Carol stopped Peter from entering the trauma room, also blocking Mark and Doug, cutting him off. He tried to move around her but she moved with him and held her hands out standing firm. 

“We can handle this guys, we have two doctors in here and Dr Anspaughs been paged for the surgery. You need to get yourselves checked out and rest.” She gazed at all of them, her eyes lingering on Doug.

“I can’t imagine what you’ve been through and I know you want to help, but you being this tired and working on him isn’t going to help anyone” she finished and turned heading into the trauma room. Before anyone could protest, Haleh and Lydia pushed them towards the suture room, sitting Peter down and starting to work on his cut. The surgeon thought about getting up and ignoring Carols words, going in to check on Carter would give him a sense of peace, but one look at Haleh and he knew he wasn’t moving until she was completely done tending to his scalp lac. Mark and Doug went by the door looking into the trauma room and watched as Susan worked frantically, worry etched into her features. She hadn’t expected her young colleague to be so battered. Suddenly Mark remembered something and opened the door, waving off Lydia, 

“Make sure you get a tox screen. They gave him something in there but we had no idea what it was” Kerry nodded at him and called out to Chuny to get a tox screen just as Donald Anspaugh entered the room with another surgeon. 

“My God” he breathed under his breath taking in the bruises and chest tube that was surrounding Carter. He looked up, gaining composure but before he could say anything Peter came bounding into the room, Haleh closely behind,

“Dr Anspaugh I’d like to scrub in for Carter” he stated firmly. He had decided he was not going to sit back when he could actually do something to help Carter. Not like he had done at that warehouse.

“Well that’s very valiant of you Peter but I don’t think scrubbing in right after being kidnapped is the brightest thing to do” the senior surgeon said trying to calm an agitated Peter,

“I understand that but I-“

“We will let you know as soon as we’re done Peter and you can be there when he wakes up, but until then you are to get some rest and not come near the OR, do you understand?” Doctor Anspaugh said and looked intently at Peter. He knew what the young man on the table meant to him and wanted to reassure him. He caught sight of Doug Ross about to say something from behind and interrupted him before he could start,

“We will let all, of you know” he said meaningfully, realising that after what the men had likely witnessed, they just wanted to make sure their colleague was Ok. Both Mark and Doug nodded gratefully at this reassurance. The tox screen had returned and both Kerry and Susan had started Carter on a drug to counteract the effects. They turned to Dr Anspaugh informing him that Carter was ready to be prepped for surgery. The chief of staff nodded at the women and led the way for Carter to be rolled up into the OR. All the doctors and nurses watched as one of their own was taken away to be cut up. All of them prayed that it would save his life.

***

Mark, Doug and Peter had all been forced against their will to go home and rest while Carter was in surgery. They had tried to spend the night in the ER but nobody would have it and after such a traumatic ordeal they did want to go home to their families, Peter needing to see Jackie and Mark, Rachel. They had been asked to be paged as soon as Carter was out of surgery, so he wouldn’t wake up alone. However Carter had woken up earlier than expected and while each Doctor had been paged, none of them had made it in time for Carter’s first time being awake and coherent. Carter’s eyes slowly got used to the dim lighting and as the effects of the anaesthesia wore off he realised he was in a hospital.  
‘How has that happened?’ He thought back, but the last thing he remember was a gun in his face. He came to the conclusion that the three doctors who had gone to look for help, must have found it. He sighed slowly as he looked around the silent room, the only sounds to accompany him being those of the machines. He felt a sudden wave of loneliness overcome him. The other three doctors were likely reunited with their families, being comforted by loved ones. All he had were nurses checking his vitals. Even they looked at him in pity. No one had come to see him. His parents, God knows where they were, his grandparents in Switzerland. His Grandmother would have come if she had been here but his Grandfathers arrangements and affairs had to be taken care of before she could think to return home. If she even knew what had happened. Carter wasn’t sure when his family became so distant, disconnected. He had a guess but he had always felt a cold air surrounded the Carter family no matter what. It’s why he worked so hard to get away and distance himself. Why he tried his best to be kind to all his patients and warm. He didn’t want to be like them. And yet here he was. Suffering the consequences of their actions. It felt like he could never escape. In a way he felt like he had no family. Tears surfaced and he was shocked at how choked up he had become so quickly. He closed his eyes, a tear escaping. He heard a chair being moved next to him causing him to look up suddenly and quickly wipe his face. In front of him sat Peter Benton, observing him silently. Carter wasn’t sure whether Dr Benton had seen the tears in his eyes but he quickly blinked them away, not wanting his mentor to ask about his inner turmoil and troubled family relations. 

Peter spoke up first, “I’m sorry I wasn’t here when you woke up, Jackie was worried and everyone wanted us to go home and rest”

Carter cleared his throat slightly before he spoke, “yeah I thought so. You don’t have to worry I wasn’t expecting anyone to be here, especially after” he gestured around slightly “everything” he finished, looking off to the window, lost in thought. Peter heard the words and was suddenly filled with anger. Not at Carter specifically but at everyone else. Why did he not have a stronger support system? Where were his family? Jackie had been the first to call the hospital, having been calling every hour or two since he’d gone missing. He hated that no one had that concern for Carter, and he hated that Carter probably realised that. Now he had let him down as well. He said he would be here, he promised him even if Carter didn’t remember.

“You should have expected someone to be here Carter. Someone should have been here. I wish I had been here and I’m sorry but don’t ever feel your alone. I will be here” Peter paused and smiled slowly at Carter “whether you like it or not.” 

Carter was taken aback slightly by the strong sentiments Dr Benton had expressed. He really hadn’t expected anyone to be there, and he was shocked his mentor had taken it so to heart. As he nodded and looked at his mentor, he realised a lot of things had been said in those few words and looks they exchanged. He looked behind him and saw Dr Greene and Dr Ross as well as Carol and Dr Lewis standing in the doorway and he realised that even if he didn’t have his blood family to support him, he could rely on this family any day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that is the end! I hope you liked it! It took me a while coz I wanted to make it nice and long for everyone but I had Uni work. Please excuse the vagueness of the medical procedure I did not want to start writing and then it feel unrealistic as that would ruin it. ALSO if you love ER as much as I do go follow my ER edits account on Tiktok, @e_r139. Hopefully will be writing more fics if people want to see them so keep an eye out! Thank you so much for reading supporting! Love you all <3

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you liked it! Please leave feedback and comments, I welcome any constructive criticism. Like I said at the top this will probably be multiple chapters, likely 3 or 4 so look out for those. Most of it is written I just need to end it so I will probably upload the next part on Friday and then we can see how it goes from there!


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